Improvement in rifle-bullets



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJ AMIN B. HOTCHKISS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT m .RIFLE-BULLETS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 192,829, dated July 10, 1877; application filed February 19, 1877.

To all whom it mag/concern:

Be it known that I, ,BENJAMIN B'. HOTH- KISS, of the city, county, and State of New- York, (now temporarl y residin g in Pars, France,) have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in Rifle Balls or Bullets,of

which the following is a specification The object of this invention is to remove the necessty of providing rifleballs or bullets .rosion, when the ball or bullet is fixed within a copper orsimilar metallic case containing the charge of powder, causes the destruction or deterioration of the powder-charge.

This inventiox1 consists in providing a leaden or similar ball or bullet with a packing of harder metal, which shall, from its nature, provide a bearing-surface, which, while readil y taking the rfling of the bore of the gun, will not lead the same, and requires no. lubricant.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a part plan and part sctional viewof a complete cartridge which is provided with my improved ball or bullet; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section, showing the ball provided with a. packingshell Fig. 3, a similar view, showing another construction of ball; Fig. 4, a similar view,

showing another construction of ball and packing; Fig. 5, a part section and part plan view of a third form of the packing; Fig. 6, a similar view of a still further modification of the packing; Fig; 7, a longitudinal section of another construction of ball and packing on line y y of Fig. 8; Fig. 8,a trausverse section of Fig. 7 on theline az: a); Fig.-9, a plan view of a mode of constructing one form of the packing; and Figs. 10 and 11, views showing the manner of forming said packing and applying it to the ball.

It is a fact well understood that the lead balls or bullets now universally adopted for fire-arms will, after several discharges of the arm, accumulate a deposit of their metal in the rfling or grooves of the gun, which fouling soon prevents the rfling from rotating the ball, and thus injures the accuracy of its flight through the air. To prevent this defeot it has long been the custom to lubricate leaden balls, to decrease the friction of their con tact with the bore of the gun, and thus lessen their liability to deposit the soft metal, composing them.in the gun-bore.

When the copper cartridge-case replaced the paper article it at once became necessary to protect the said copper case from the dele terious effects of its contact with the grease or lubricant upon the ball, which in a very short time causes the copper shell to corrode, and thus impair, if not wholly destroy, the charge of powder. A patch of paper interposed between the copper shell and the lubricated ball wasadopted, and then a paper covering surcharged with a greasy compound was employed. Neither of these expedients has proven to be wholly etficient, since in the onecase the grease will in time work through the paper into contact with the shell, and in the latter c'ase the greasy paper is always in direct contact therewith, the corrosion of the shell resulting from its contact with grease, which contact it must have in either of the above cases, communicating with and destroying the powderwith which the cartridge is charged.

By my invention the ball is provided externally with a packing or shell which is composed of a metal harder than the ball, soft enough to readily shape itself to engage the grooves of the rifle, and of a nature which requires no lubricant. This packing or shell is, preferably, a copper cup shaped in dies by drawing, so as to slide over the rear end of the ball, as in Fig. 2, where the ball is shown as partially enveloped by such acup, 2, which is held in place by pressing down its forward end 1 into the soft metal of the ball:

A ball thus constructed may be supported in the end of the cartridge-case, asiis seen in Fig. l, and when dscharged it will obviously be ejected from the cartridge-case, and be forced to take the rfling of the gun as it is projected through its bore,

To facilitate the displacement of the packing to an extent which will cause it to fill up the rfling of the gun, it may be desirable to provide the ball with grooves 4 in its sides, to permit the packingshells to be more readily upset to take the rfling, as in Fig. 3.

Having a solid base, 7, the packing 2 can in-no Wise he disturhed in its position upon the ball by the gases resulting from the burning charge, while grooves 4 allow the pressure of the gases to swage the packing into them, thus preventing 'any Ion gitudinal displacemeut of the packing upon the ball; or this union of the two, Which prevents their separation, may be accomplished mechanically in the formation of the hall.

In Fig. 4' the hall 3 is shown with a conical recess, 10, 'in its base, which construction adapts it to he more readilyexpanded when its propelling-charge is fired to forceits pack ing into the rifling, as'is well understood. In this instauce the packing is a solid hollow tubeor,seevo, 8, having its base end turned inward ly to form a continuous lip, 9, overlapping the base of the hall. This form is desirable from the cheapness of its production, its lip 9 preventing the gases from entering between the packing and hall, and thus forcing them a.suuder.

The packing muy be formed from a flat plate of metal, as 21, .Fig. 9, whose edges 6 are bent npwnrdat right angles, and the said plate 'curved,as is seen in Fig.10., Thus formed,

it is ud'optd to he placed upon a hallwhich is provided with a longitudinal slit, as 11,

(see Fig. 11,)"into which the edg'es 6 will protrude. Thus disposcd, the whole may be secured together by compression iu a die, when the parts will tssume' the positions shown in Fgs. 7and 8.

If found necessary, of course the end of this form of the packing might he turned inward upon the base of the hall, as in the case of that shown in Fig. 4.

Owing to the liability of copper to corrode,

. it may be desirnhle to form this improved packing of some other metal, as tin, or a composition in which tin is a predominant element, as z1nc,or forms the exposed surface, as tinned iron.

A simple and highly efficient form of this inventiu is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6,- the formershowing the ball as provided with concentric rings, 13, of wire, and the letter showing a continuous wire, 14, wound spirally one or more times around the ball. One or more rings, 13, or spirals 14 may be provided. The wire used may be copper or other composition when it is applied after the ball is cast, in which case it will be pressed into the surface.

In thus applying this form of the packing the wire ring 13 may be bent in a manner similar to that shown in Fig. 10, so that it's ends form toes .22, which, being forced into the top of the ba1l3, secure the rings in place.

In a.like manner the free ends of the spiral may be secured to the ball, as shown at 23, Fig. 6; but as it iscontemplated to introduce this wire form of the packing into the bulletmold it will be preferable to form it of tinned wire, which, when the hot lead comes into contact with it in the process of casting the hall, will be firmly soldered in position upon the exterior of the ball.

In this mode of applying the packmg to the ball it is immaterial whether the rings 13 or spiral 14 are provided with toes 22 23, or have their ends secured together before the ball is cast around them.

.This invention, providing, as it does, asoft metllic packing for the softer leaden ball,

which packing is capable of taking the rifling scrihing witnesses.

B. B. HOTCHKISS.. Witnesses:

EI. T. MUNSON, LEWIS H. TODD. 

